Member Profile

With Business Aviation, Viking Brings Customers to Small Town

In the lobby of a brick-walled building in Greenwood, MS sits a vintage stove with a cast-iron oven that served as the
inspiration for one of the most recognizable kitchen equipment companies in the country: Viking Range Corporation.

"That's the range that started it all," says Bill Crump, Viking's director of governmental affairs and executive assistant
to founder Fred Carl, Jr. "Fred modeled the very first Viking stove after this one, which belonged to his wife's mother."

Carl, president and CEO of Viking, designed the first Viking range a number of years later, and he found that his
passion for creating a quality stove set a company-wide culture of excellence that extends to their flight operations.

Aircraft Bring Clients and Vendors to Greenwood

Flying into Greenwood-Leflore Airport (GWO) in Greenwood, MS is impossible via airline, and driving 90 miles from
either Memphis, TN or Jackson, MS wastes time and productivity, Crump says. So Viking Range uses its two Cessna
Citation jets to bring clients and vendors from all over the country to Greenwood for sales meetings and training.

Carl said that the distributors and vendors selling Viking products require hands-on training and education,
enabling them to be as passionate about the products as the people making them in Greenwood.

"Our training staff runs cooking and product demos every week right here in town," Crump says. "Many of our
dealers don't have a live floor model to show buyers because our products are handmade for each order. So this
classroom gives them a chance to work with the equipment and learn all about the products."

Viking products are found in more than 80 countries
worldwide, making business aviation a necessity.

"With our airplanes, we can meet our vendors and clients
right where they are, pick them up and bring them back
here to Greenwood," explains Crump. "That could take a full
day, plus the drive into Greenwood, if they flew in on the
airlines to get here," he adds. "Our business airplanes just
make sense for a lot of our missions."

"We'll do everything from short hops to connect with
commercial traffic up in Memphis, to seeing clients in
Boston, out on the West Coast, or in Mexico and Canada,"
says Barry Shelton, aviation department manager. "Our
productivity and efficiency is tremendously increased by
using our planes."

Using the Right Tool for the Right Mission

Viking's aviation department consists of five pilots
(one of whom is also the department manager) and a
scheduler/dispatcher.

The Citation Sovereign and XL fly a total of about 1,200
hours per year, and which model is used for a particular
trip is based on the mission at hand.

"You need different tools for different jobs, and
our missions are no different," says Shelton. "Having
two airplanes has helped us be more productive and
enhance safety. We're able to do business on the West
and East Coast at once, without any deadhead or repositioning
flights."

Carl first owned a share of a Beechcraft King Air 200 with
other partners for many years prior to leasing a King Air
for his business in Greenwood. In 1998, Carl purchased a
Cessna Citation II, then upgraded to a Sovereign in 2000.

Investing in Its Community

Viking has been based in Carl's hometown of Greenwood,
which is in the heart of the historic Mississippi Delta, since
1986 The original Viking manufacturing facility was a
35,000-square-foot former distribution warehouse built
by Carl's father in the 1950s.

"I grew up here in Greenwood and would not want
to have my company based anywhere else," Carl says.
"Because we are able to reach our customers and vendors
with business aviation, we are able to keep jobs in
Greenwood."

Viking employs 1,100 people in Mississippi, and having
the company based in his hometown means Carl can invest
in his community. Viking's headquarters consists of four
manufacturing facilities, support operations and a collection
of historic buildings totaling nearly one million square
feet. All of the downtown buildings are original structures
of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and several have
received historic preservation awards from the Mississippi
Heritage Trust as well as the National Trust for Historic
Preservation Award for commercial district revitalization.
Viking also owns or supports 16 cooking schools, with one
in Greenwood, that draw over 70,000 students each year.

Future Expansion at Viking, Greenwood

Carl says that the Viking flight department is looking into
ways to expand its international reach with new aircraft.

"Viking's growth has led to the redevelopment and
continued revitalization of Greenwood. It seems that
with each new product and expansion, another historic
building is restored," says Carl. "Having our aircraft means
we can keep doing business in Greenwood, and doing
business in Greenwood means this town will continue to
be a gem of the Mississippi Delta."

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Business Aviation Insider, the official Member publication of NBAA, serves as a helpful resource for all NBAA Members, regardless of the size of their business. NBAA mails the printed Business Aviation Insider to all Members, and only Members have full access to all online articles and PDF downloads.